DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.
WARNING: May be triggering.
Yelling and shouting and loud crashes and bangs had Mrs. Knight running out to the living room of the apartment. "Boys!" she exclaimed. She came in to find Kendall, James, and Carlos all locked in some intense wrestling match. "Hey! HEY!" Mama Knight yelled. The boys stopped shouting and looked up. "What is going on out here?" she demanded.
All three of them started talking at once, all of them pushing away from each other and pointing accusing fingers. Mama Knight couldn't understand a word of it. She put her fingers to her temples and shut her eyes. "QUIET!" she exclaimed. The three teenage boys shut up instantly and looked at each other guiltily. "I thought you boys were going to watch a movie," Mama Knight said hopelessly.
"We were!" Carlos agreed passionately. "Until James decided to be a jerk and not want to watch what we wanted to watch—"
"Whoa, hey!" Kendall cut him off. "I didn't want to watch stupid High School Musical either!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's dumb!"
"You're dumb!"
"No, the movie's dumb, Carlitos!" broke in James. "You see, this is why you never have a girlfriend."
Carlos gasped. "This is exactly why I should have a girlfriend! I'll watch these movies with her!"
"These dumb movies!" James repeated.
"You're just jealous because Zac Efron has better hair than you." Carlos sat by smugly as James gasped with such shock that Mama Knight had to wonder if maybe the boys were performing some sort of soap opera.
"You take that back," James growled.
"Make me!" Carlos' smug look didn't last for long as James launched himself across Kendall and on top of Carlos, the wrestling match restarting as Kendall also dove in to attempt to pull the two apart. Mama Knight just looked on, massaging the knot that was forming on the back of her neck.
The door opened and shut loudly, and Mama Knight jumped, sure it was Mr. Bitters with a noise complaint. "Logan!" she sighed, relieved. "You're back."
"Yeah," Logan said, looking at the tangle of his friends on the floor. He pointed. "What's going on?"
"Something about High School Musical," Mama Knight waved off.
"Oh, God, again?" Logan grimaced, and Mama Knight nodded.
"Logan, honey, since I'm not mad at you, cover your ears please," she told him sweetly. Logan dropped his keys on the counter and quickly threw his hands over both his ears.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" The brawling boys sprang apart at the loud and long yell from Mama Knight. "If you three do not knock it off, I will take away all the movies and TV privileges for the next week!" Logan smirked at his friends' shocked faces. "Now shut up!" Mama Knight stalked off back to her bedroom. The boys were silent and watched her until they heard her door shut down the hall. Logan took his hands off his ears.
"Why is it that every time I go out, I come back and you guys are getting into trouble?" Logan asked as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.
"Because James is a jerk!" Carlos attempted to explain, but was silenced with a look from Kendall.
"How was the date?" Kendall asked as he pulled himself up from the ground and held out his hands. Logan tossed the water to him and grabbed another for himself. He shrugged as he twisted off the cap and took a gulp.
"It was…fine."
"Paparazzi?" James asked. "I still love that so much…"
"Yes, there were paparazzi, but that's not what it is." Logan sat down at the counter while James and Carlos fought for the same spot on the couch. Kendall chose to remain standing and took a drink of his own water.
"Did you and Camille break up again?" he asked, looking like this was exactly what he expected. "I mean, we all knew it was only a matter of time…"
"No," Logan snapped. He sighed. "Sorry. No, we did not break up. You know, we were serious when we decided this time would be different."
"And then you broke up the next week," Carlos pointed out cheerfully.
"And then we got back together and haven't broken up since!" Logan retorted. "Anyway…Camille's dad…he's going to make her move back to Connecticut if she hasn't booked a role by the end of summer."
"What?" Carlos and Kendall both exclaimed. James looked skeptical.
"Why?" James asked. "She's had plenty of roles! She's always showing up in costumes and everything, one of those must have been for a role she actually got."
"Camille hasn't had an acting job since that dish washer fluid commercial," Logan reminded him.
"That was last December!" Carlos remembered. "She had one line and she made me practice it with her, like, fifty different ways before she was happy with it."
James still didn't look incredibly concerned. "Well, it's still not a problem," he scoffed. "We'll be shooting a new music video in a few weeks—Gustavo told us that yesterday. You know he'll let Camille be in the video! Problem solved."
Logan shook his head sadly. "No, I already offered that. She said her dad wants her to have a real role—like, her big break. She's got to get something on a TV show, or in a movie, and it has to be more than one scene or just a few lines. She has to make it, or she's going home."
The four guys fell into a stony silence as they each mulled these thoughts over. "Well, can't you just get Gustavo to use some of his connections and find her something?" Kendall offered. "Or we can pull some strings…" He trailed off as he saw Logan shaking his head.
"I already offered. She wants to do it herself," he told the guys. "She doesn't want to have some role that someone else got for her." Logan took a final swig of water and started toward the recycling bin to throw it away.
"Logan, I'm sure she'll get something—" Kendall began, but Logan cut him off.
"But, but what if she doesn't?" Logan stammered quickly as he turned to face Kendall. "Let's face it! The odds of making it in Hollywood are astronomical, and Camille's been here longer than we have. Guys, the odds aren't in her favor." He chucked the bottle at the recycling bin and missed. He stared at it on the floor. "What if I lose her again?"
Camille
"Dad?" Camille closed the door and locked it behind her. "I'm home…" Camille's father called a greeting from his spot on the couch where he was engrossed in that morning's paper.
"Did you get a call about that audition?" he asked, without looking up. Camille felt herself flush, and she shuffled into the kitchen.
"No, Dad," she admitted. "But I've got another audition next week, and I'm bound to get that one." Her dad only murmured a response and turned a page. Camille bit her lip and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. She turned it over and over in her hands, staring at it instead of her father. "And if that doesn't work out, pilot filming season is just around the corner…"
Her father sighed and folded his paper shut and looked at her. "Camille. Just remember what we talked about."
"How could I forget?" Camille muttered under her breath.
The murmurs weren't missed by her father. "Honey, you know I support you trying to become an actress, and everything that you've achieved…but you have to face the facts. We've been here for three and a half years. You've spent your entire high school experience focusing more on landing roles than your actual studies."
"I get great grades, Dad," Camille objected, a little insulted. "That's not even the problem!"
"You're right," her dad conceded. "But I don't want you to miss out on anything in life because you're chasing after a career that only one in a million people get. I want you to go to college, and I want you to be taken care of in life—"
"I know, Dad," Camille sighed.
Her dad held up a hand to stop her talking. "Camille, you know what my final decision is. If you don't manage to get something that can be considered your 'big break' by the time the school year is starting, we'll be going back to Connecticut and you'll do your senior year in a real high school." He sighed and then sat back in his chair again. "You can come back to California for college maybe—but you'll be here for school first, acting second."
"Dad, that's not fair," Camille objected, knowing already that she would lose this fight. She'd already lost it the night before. "It can take years to become successful in this industry and I'm in my prime to—"
"Camille, you told me this when you were 13 and convinced me to relocate out here. At the time…it was probably the best decision. We both needed a change. Your mother…" he trailed off, and Camille broke eye contact, looking instead at a point on the wall behind him.
"But now it's different," he continued finally. "You're grown up. I'm not so sure that hanging out with celebrities is what you need."
"What do you mean?" Camille questioned, drawing her eyes back to her father. "What's wrong with my friends?"
"Camille, your best friend is in New Zealand filming some teen movie, and your boyfriend is in that Justin Bieber boy band group. You spend your time laying by a pool and going to concerts and getting your picture taken by paparazzi—Camille, I brought you out here to be an actress, not a celebrity hang-on."
Camille was shocked. "But that's what I want! No, ask anyone! I've said that exact thing, 'I want to be an actress, not a celebrity'!"
"Honey, I'm giving you your last chance to prove that," her father explained. "That's what this summer is for. Concentrate on your career if you really want to have one." He shrugged and picked up the television remote, flicking it on, ending the conversation. Camille stood there for a moment, fuming, and then quickly moved herself to her bedroom where she could be angry by herself.
"The Justin Bieber comment was uncalled for," she grumbled under her breath, twisting the stem of her apple angrily until it came off. She paced back and forth quickly for a few seconds before she went to the patio and stepped out for some fresh air.
The sun was just going down. Camille looked out over the railing down at the pool. Guitar Dude was by one of the fire pits with a few of his friends, and then the Jennifers were immediately beneath her, gossiping about something or other. Resting her elbows on the edge of the railing, Camille pushed a strand of hair out of her face and sighed.
"Did you see the pics online of Logan?" Camille's ears perked up at the sound of Logan's name. She looked down and saw that it was Jennifer 1, talking to her fellows. The other two nodded enthusiastically.
It's wrong to eavesdrop, it's wrong to eavesdrop…Camille's brain nagged at her. Shut up, she told the nagging voice. I can't hear.
Jennifer 2 giggled and fanned herself with the magazine she was holding. "That boy is seriously fine. Now that those guys are famous, I might just let them take me on a date."
"Well not Logan," Jennifer 1 reminded her, sounding annoyed. "He's dating Camille again. She was in the pictures, remember?"
Jennifer 3 snorted. "She's pretty easy to miss. Nothing special."
"Besides," Jennifer 2 added. "He and Camille are on-again, off-again every other week. I'll just scoop him up once they break up again."
"What does he see in her anyway?" Jennifer 3 mused, taking a sip of water that she had by her side. "I mean, she's got next to no talent, as shown by her lack of roles, and she's…well…"
"Go on, say it!" Jennifer 1 encouraged, while Jennifer 2 giggled knowingly.
"Well she's not the skinniest girl around, is she?" Jennifer 3 finally said, a sly smile on her face. Camille felt her mouth open slowly in shock and her cheeks heated up as they turned bright red.
"I'll say," Jennifer 2 agreed. "Look at those pictures! Her thighs look horrible. We should call her COW-mille instead!"
The three vicious girls laughed hysterically at this as Camille slowly backed away from the edge. She reached behind her and opened the door.
"Well, as soon as Logan dumps her sorry ass, I'll be waiting for him," was the last thing she heard before she shut the door. She turned and faced the inside of her room, pressing her back against the door and sliding down it.
"Cow-mille?" she whispered to herself. "Really?" She straightened out her legs and looked closely at them. She had never before even remotely thought about whether or not she was fat. But now, looking at herself, it was practically all she could see. Fat dripping on every surface.
No wonder I can't get any roles…she realized. No one hires the fat girl. Well, except to play a fat girl. Camille shook her head violently, her curls swinging back and forth. I won't play a fat girl. I won't do it.
She took one look at the apple in her hand and threw it away from her, making it into the waste basket by her bed. It fell in with a loud clang.